Ultra short review of Sophie Says by Judy Balan

7:10:00 PM

I had found Judy Balan's
first book (2 Fates) to be genuinely entertaining and that was why I
decided to give her second work(Sophie Says) a try, overlooking the few
not-so-encouraging reviews for 'Sophie' which I had come across.But
after going through it,I should admit that Judy's follow up to her debut
work(which was good fun as long as it lasted) is a huge let down.It's
neither funny nor intellectually stimulating!
The plot itself is wafer thin.Sophie Thilakam is a
single,independent,(almost thirty),commitment-phobic female who has just
resigned her well paid job as it's too mundane and un-exciting .Sophie's
best friend is Yatan,an adventure loving NRI .She doesn't mind
remaining single,but thanks to the 'blah-blah aunty brigade',decides to
find herself a 'fake' boyfriend-(Ryan).Things get complicated when she
slowly develops a liking for him but pretty soon realizes that she
still has feelings for her ex-turned-BFF,Yatan .The rest of the story is
about the choices she makes in life and how she comes out of her
commitment phobia.There is a parallel track involving Sophy's life as a
break up coach (which comes as 'blog posts' every now and
then,irritating the reader eventually) There is
nothing remotely charming about this work.Blame it on the bland
characters or the totally un-funny situations in which they find
themselves in,'Sophie Says' never works even as a light read.The reader
neither 'feels' for the protagonist and her moral dilemma nor will he
relate to her impulsive decisions in life.Infact,by the time she decides
to choose between Ryan and Yatan,you actually stop caring about her.On
the whole,this book is a disappointment.